LIVERPOOL, NY - After nearly two years and $200,000 in salary and health benefits to a suspended employee, a hearing officer has dismissed Liverpool school district's efforts to remove its technology administrator.

Bonnie Ladd, director of computer education and services, has been on paid suspension since April 27, 2007.

Hearing officer Stuart M. Pohl said he dismissed the charges Wednesday based on a procedural flaw, not on the merits of the case.

The school district failed to tell Ladd what penalties she faced when they charged her, Pohl said. State law requires her to be notified of the penalties.

Liverpool school district can resubmit the case, Pohl said. The district has three options, according to Ladd's lawyer:

• Appeal the decision.

• Do nothing and reinstate Ladd.

• Or re-present the case to the school board and decide whether to pursue disciplinary charges against Ladd.

Liverpool School Superintendent Jan Matousek could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

School board president J. Mark Lawson said the district hasn't had a chance to consult with its attorneys, so he doesn't know what the district will decide to do.

The school district has spent more than $767,000 in salary, benefits and legal costs trying to remove Ladd and another administrator, athletic director George Mangicaro.

Mangicaro was placed on administrative leave Sept. 26, 2006, shortly after he brought allegations of financial misconduct against the superintendent to the school board. He's been paid more than $298,586 in salary and medical benefits while not working.

Why Liverpool officials are trying to get rid of the administrators remains secret. District officials and lawyers representing the administrators have not released the charges behind the disciplinary actions.

The case is moving on two fronts: a state-mandated disciplinary hearing required to dismiss tenured school employees and a federal lawsuit brought by the administrators who are trying to get their jobs back.

Ladd's lawyer Arthur Scheuermann said he believes the decision means "we're one step closer to having" her back to work.

"I think it creates more pressure on the school district to resolve the entire saga involving Bonnie Ladd and George Mangicaro and their whistle-blowing of the financial improprieties that occurred within the Liverpool Central School District," he said.

"What is clear is the school district rushed to judgment in filing these baseless charges and they didn't file the charges properly."

Mangicaro's lawyer, John Kershko, has filed a motion to dismiss disciplinary charges similar to those filed in Ladd's case. He is waiting for hearing officer Douglas Bantle to make a decision.

If the district decides to pursue charges against Ladd, her lawyer said the district would have to make some changes and explain the penalties Ladd would face.

Last month, the hearing officer dismissed one-third of the charges and said the school district needed to clarify several others or else they, too, could be dismissed, Scheuermann said

The reason, he said, was some charges were "constitutionally vague." Others went beyond a three-year statute of limitations, he said. And then there were "scandalous" charges stricken from the record, he added.

Pohl said he would not comment on the charges he dismissed last month because the entire case no longer exists.

School board's vice president David B. Savlov said he'd like all the parties to have a discussion and try to resolve the case.

"What's best is to have it resolved and not spend more money on this action," he said. "I want it to end. We need to move on."

Savlov said the suspension notices given to Ladd and Mangicaro were prepared by the district's lawyers. He said the board relies on their expertise.

The O'Hara, O'Connell & Ciotoli law firm was representing Liverpool schools at the time.

Dennis O'Hara, whose firm no longer represents Liverpool schools, said until he could review the decision he wasn't comfortable commenting on the case.

A lawyer who now represents the school district, David Ferrara, of Bond, Schoeneck & King, said he not had seen the decision and declined to comment on it.

Savlov said he is hopeful Ladd and Mangicaro's cases can be resolved soon.

"We've got momentum," he said. "The stadium referendum passed. We have new lawyers. We're searching for a new superintendent. This is another issue which needs to be resolved for the good of the district. It's not only the money, it's the whole pall that's hanging over our community."